Jayma Mays
Encyclopedia
Jayma Suzette Mays is an American television and film actress, and singer. Mays' most prominent roles include that of Emma Pillsbury
on the American television series Glee
, recurring appearances on Ugly Betty
and on Heroes
as characters named Charlie.
, Virginia, the daughter of Paulette (née Norris) and James Mays, a high school teacher who also worked in the coal mining industry. Mays's interests as a child ranged from singing to mathematics. After graduating from Grundy High School with a superlative of most talented, she attended and earned an associate degree from Southwest Virginia Community College
. Mays then attended Virginia Tech for a year before transferring to Radford University
, graduating in 2001 with a degree in Theatre.
In 2004, she made her first television appearance on Joey
. The following year, she made her feature film debut with a supporting role in Red Eye
. Mays's other credits include Six Feet Under, The Comeback
, Entourage
, Stacked
, How I Met Your Mother
, Heroes
, Pushing Daisies
where she played both Elsita and her mother Elsa in episode four, Ghost Whisperer
and Ugly Betty
. Jayma was in other movies, such as Bar Starz, Flags of Our Fathers
and Blind Guy Driving. She starred in the spoof film Epic Movie
and as Amy in Paul Blart: Mall Cop. She was a patient on House
in the episode "Sleeping Dogs Lie" in 2006. She also starred in the music video for the song "Awakening" by Switchfoot
alongside her husband, released as a single in 2007. Jayma and Adam married on October 28th 2007.
Mays has played the love interest of a character played by Masi Oka
in two different roles: Charlie Andrews on Heroes
and Nina in the direct-to-DVD film Get Smart's Bruce and Lloyd: Out of Control
.She has also been cast as a love interest in another two different roles with Glee co-star, Matthew Morrison in an unaired TV show called "Nice Girls dont get the corner Office", where Mays landed the lead role. Unfortunately the show never got past the Pilot episode. She currently stars as Emma Pillsbury
on the Fox
show Glee
, which premiered on May 19, 2009 and in March 2010, Mays played the female lead in a live action/animation hybrid film version of The Smurfs
.
Emma Pillsbury
Emma Pillsbury is a fictional character from the Fox musical comedy-drama series Glee. Portrayed by actress Jayma Mays, Emma has appeared in Glee from its pilot episode, first broadcast on May 19, 2009. Emma was developed by Glee creators Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan...
on the American television series Glee
Glee (TV series)
Glee is an American musical comedy-drama television series that airs on Fox in the United States, and on GlobalTV in Canada. It focuses on the high school glee club New Directions competing on the show choir competition circuit, while its members deal with relationships, sexuality and social issues...
, recurring appearances on Ugly Betty
Ugly Betty
Ugly Betty is an American comedy-drama television series developed by Silvio Horta, which premiered on ABC on September 28, 2006, and ended on April 14, 2010. The series revolves around the character Betty Suarez and is based on Fernando Gaitán's Colombian telenovela soap opera Yo soy Betty, la fea...
and on Heroes
Heroes (TV series)
Heroes is an American science fiction television drama series created by Tim Kring that appeared on NBC for four seasons from September 25, 2006 through February 8, 2010. The series tells the stories of ordinary people who discover superhuman abilities, and how these abilities take effect in the...
as characters named Charlie.
Life and career
Mays was born Jamia Suzette Mays and was raised in GrundyGrundy, Virginia
Grundy is a town in Buchanan County, Virginia, United States. The population was 1,105 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Buchanan County. The town is noted for its educational institutions and their role in the town's economic rebirth. In the past, the town served as a stopover for Union...
, Virginia, the daughter of Paulette (née Norris) and James Mays, a high school teacher who also worked in the coal mining industry. Mays's interests as a child ranged from singing to mathematics. After graduating from Grundy High School with a superlative of most talented, she attended and earned an associate degree from Southwest Virginia Community College
Southwest Virginia Community College
Southwest Virginia Community College is located outside of Richlands, Virginia, on the border of Tazewell and Russell counties, and is one of the 23 schools in the Virginia Community College System. SWCC was opened in 1968 to serve the residents of Buchanan, Russell and Tazewell counties....
. Mays then attended Virginia Tech for a year before transferring to Radford University
Radford University
Radford University is one of Virginia's eight doctoral-degree granting public universities. Originally founded in 1910, Radford offers comprehensive curricula for undergraduates in more than 100 fields, and graduate programs including the M.F.A., M.B.A...
, graduating in 2001 with a degree in Theatre.
In 2004, she made her first television appearance on Joey
Joey (TV series)
Joey is an American sitcom, which stars Matt LeBlanc reprising his role as Joey Tribbiani from the sitcom Friends. It premiered on the NBC television network, on September 9, 2004, in the former time slot of its parent series, Thursday nights at 8:00 p.m...
. The following year, she made her feature film debut with a supporting role in Red Eye
Red Eye (film)
Red Eye is a 2005 thriller film directed by Wes Craven and starring Rachel McAdams as a hotel manager ensnared in an assassination plot by a terrorist while aboard a red-eye flight to Miami. The film score was composed and conducted by Marco Beltrami.-Plot:Lisa Reisert fears flying...
. Mays's other credits include Six Feet Under, The Comeback
The Comeback (TV series)
The Comeback is a television series produced by HBO that stars actress Lisa Kudrow as sitcom actress Valerie Cherish in modern-day Los Angeles, California. It was created by Kudrow and Michael Patrick King, a former executive producer of Sex and the City...
, Entourage
Entourage (TV series)
Entourage is an American comedy-drama television series that premiered on HBO on July 18, 2004 and concluded on September 11, 2011, after eight seasons...
, Stacked
Stacked
Stacked is an American television sitcom that premiered on Fox on April 13, 2005. On May 18, 2006, Stacked was canceled, leaving five episodes unaired in the United States. The last episode aired on January 11, 2006...
, How I Met Your Mother
How I Met Your Mother
How I Met Your Mother is an American sitcom that premiered on CBS on September 19, 2005, created by Craig Thomas and Carter Bays.As a framing device, the main character, Ted Mosby with narration by Bob Saget, in the year 2030 recounts to his son and daughter the events that led to his meeting...
, Heroes
Heroes (TV series)
Heroes is an American science fiction television drama series created by Tim Kring that appeared on NBC for four seasons from September 25, 2006 through February 8, 2010. The series tells the stories of ordinary people who discover superhuman abilities, and how these abilities take effect in the...
, Pushing Daisies
Pushing Daisies
Pushing Daisies is an American comedy-drama television series created by Bryan Fuller that aired on ABC from October 3, 2007 to June 13, 2009. The series stars Lee Pace as Ned, a pie-maker with the ability to bring dead things back to life with his touch, an ability that comes with stipulations...
where she played both Elsita and her mother Elsa in episode four, Ghost Whisperer
Ghost Whisperer
Ghost Whisperer is an American television supernatural drama, which ran on CBS from September 23, 2005 to May 21, 2010.The series follows the life of Melinda Gordon , who has the ability to see and communicate with ghosts...
and Ugly Betty
Ugly Betty
Ugly Betty is an American comedy-drama television series developed by Silvio Horta, which premiered on ABC on September 28, 2006, and ended on April 14, 2010. The series revolves around the character Betty Suarez and is based on Fernando Gaitán's Colombian telenovela soap opera Yo soy Betty, la fea...
. Jayma was in other movies, such as Bar Starz, Flags of Our Fathers
Flags of Our Fathers (film)
is a 2006 American war film directed, co-produced and scored by Clint Eastwood and written by William Broyles, Jr. and Paul Haggis. It is based on the book of the same name written by James Bradley and Ron Powers about the Battle of Iwo Jima, the five Marines and one Navy Corpsman who were involved...
and Blind Guy Driving. She starred in the spoof film Epic Movie
Epic Movie
Epic Movie is a 2007 American parody film directed and written by Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer and produced by Paul Schiff. It was made in a similar style to Date Movie, Friedberg and Seltzer's previous film. The film mostly references The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the...
and as Amy in Paul Blart: Mall Cop. She was a patient on House
House (TV series)
House is an American television medical drama that debuted on the Fox network on November 16, 2004. The show's central character is Dr. Gregory House , an unconventional and misanthropic medical genius who heads a team of diagnosticians at the fictional Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in...
in the episode "Sleeping Dogs Lie" in 2006. She also starred in the music video for the song "Awakening" by Switchfoot
Switchfoot
Switchfoot is an American rock band from San Diego, California. The band's members are Jon Foreman , Tim Foreman , Chad Butler , Jerome Fontamillas , and Drew Shirley .After early successes in the Christian rock scene, Switchfoot first gained mainstream...
alongside her husband, released as a single in 2007. Jayma and Adam married on October 28th 2007.
Mays has played the love interest of a character played by Masi Oka
Masi Oka
Masayori "Masi" Oka is a Japanese-American actor and digital effects artist.He has performed in numerous feature films and TV series, most prominently as Hiro Nakamura in the NBC TV series Heroes from 2006 until its cancellation in May 2010. He resides in Los Angeles, California.-Early life:Oka...
in two different roles: Charlie Andrews on Heroes
Heroes (TV series)
Heroes is an American science fiction television drama series created by Tim Kring that appeared on NBC for four seasons from September 25, 2006 through February 8, 2010. The series tells the stories of ordinary people who discover superhuman abilities, and how these abilities take effect in the...
and Nina in the direct-to-DVD film Get Smart's Bruce and Lloyd: Out of Control
Get Smart's Bruce and Lloyd: Out of Control
Get Smart's Bruce and Lloyd: Out of Control is a direct-to-video motion picture released in 2008. It is a spin-off of the 2008 film Get Smart and was released in North America on July 1, 2008, 10 days after the parent film began its theatrical run. The film is written by Tom J...
.She has also been cast as a love interest in another two different roles with Glee co-star, Matthew Morrison in an unaired TV show called "Nice Girls dont get the corner Office", where Mays landed the lead role. Unfortunately the show never got past the Pilot episode. She currently stars as Emma Pillsbury
Emma Pillsbury
Emma Pillsbury is a fictional character from the Fox musical comedy-drama series Glee. Portrayed by actress Jayma Mays, Emma has appeared in Glee from its pilot episode, first broadcast on May 19, 2009. Emma was developed by Glee creators Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan...
on the Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
show Glee
Glee (TV series)
Glee is an American musical comedy-drama television series that airs on Fox in the United States, and on GlobalTV in Canada. It focuses on the high school glee club New Directions competing on the show choir competition circuit, while its members deal with relationships, sexuality and social issues...
, which premiered on May 19, 2009 and in March 2010, Mays played the female lead in a live action/animation hybrid film version of The Smurfs
The Smurfs (film)
The Smurfs is a 2011 American 3D family film based on The Smurfs comic book series created by Peyo and the 1980s animated TV series it spawned. It was directed by Raja Gosnell and stars Neil Patrick Harris, Hank Azaria, Jayma Mays, and Sofía Vergara. It is the first CGI/live-action hybrid film to...
.
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Red Eye Red Eye (film) Red Eye is a 2005 thriller film directed by Wes Craven and starring Rachel McAdams as a hotel manager ensnared in an assassination plot by a terrorist while aboard a red-eye flight to Miami. The film score was composed and conducted by Marco Beltrami.-Plot:Lisa Reisert fears flying... |
Cynthia | |
| 2006 | Blind Dating Blind Dating Blind Dating is a 2006 romantic comedy film directed by James Keach and starring Chris Pine, Eddie Kaye Thomas, Anjali Jay, Jane Seymour, and Jayma Mays. The movie is produced by David Shanks and James Keach and is distributed by Samuel Goldwyn Films LLC.During its release, the film received... |
Mandy | also known as "Blind Guy Driving" |
| 2006 | Flags of Our Fathers Flags of Our Fathers (film) is a 2006 American war film directed, co-produced and scored by Clint Eastwood and written by William Broyles, Jr. and Paul Haggis. It is based on the book of the same name written by James Bradley and Ron Powers about the Battle of Iwo Jima, the five Marines and one Navy Corpsman who were involved... |
Nurse in Hawaii | |
| 2007 | Smiley Face Smiley Face (film) Smiley Face is a 2007 American/German comedy film written by Dylan Haggerty and directed and co-produced by Gregg Araki. It stars Anna Faris as a young woman who has a series of misadventures after eating a large number of cupcakes laced with cannabis... |
Actress in Waiting Room | |
| 2007 | Epic Movie Epic Movie Epic Movie is a 2007 American parody film directed and written by Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer and produced by Paul Schiff. It was made in a similar style to Date Movie, Friedberg and Seltzer's previous film. The film mostly references The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the... |
Lucy | Main Character |
| 2007 | Bar Starz | Tiffany | |
| 2008 | Get Smart's Bruce and Lloyd: Out of Control Get Smart's Bruce and Lloyd: Out of Control Get Smart's Bruce and Lloyd: Out of Control is a direct-to-video motion picture released in 2008. It is a spin-off of the 2008 film Get Smart and was released in North America on July 1, 2008, 10 days after the parent film began its theatrical run. The film is written by Tom J... |
Nina | |
| 2009 | Paul Blart: Mall Cop | Amy Anderson | Main Character |
| 2011 | Grace Winslow | Main Character |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Joey Joey (TV series) Joey is an American sitcom, which stars Matt LeBlanc reprising his role as Joey Tribbiani from the sitcom Friends. It premiered on the NBC television network, on September 9, 2004, in the former time slot of its parent series, Thursday nights at 8:00 p.m... |
Molly | Episode: "Joey and the Party" |
| 2005 | Sales Girl | Episode: "Valerie Demands Dignity" | |
| 2005 | Six Feet Under | Donna | Episode: "The Rainbow of Her Reasons" |
| 2005 | How I Met Your Mother How I Met Your Mother How I Met Your Mother is an American sitcom that premiered on CBS on September 19, 2005, created by Craig Thomas and Carter Bays.As a framing device, the main character, Ted Mosby with narration by Bob Saget, in the year 2030 recounts to his son and daughter the events that led to his meeting... |
Coat Check Girl | Episode: "Okay Awesome Okay Awesome "Okay Awesome" is the fifth episode in the first season of the television series How I Met Your Mother. It originally aired on October 17, 2005.- Plot :... " |
| 2005 | Stacked Stacked Stacked is an American television sitcom that premiered on Fox on April 13, 2005. On May 18, 2006, Stacked was canceled, leaving five episodes unaired in the United States. The last episode aired on January 11, 2006... |
Brenda | Episode: "Nobody Says I Love You" |
| 2006 | If You Lived Here, You'd Be Home Now | Sandra | TV pilot |
| 2006 | 30 Even Scarier Movie Moments | Herself | TV miniseries |
| 2006 | House House (TV series) House is an American television medical drama that debuted on the Fox network on November 16, 2004. The show's central character is Dr. Gregory House , an unconventional and misanthropic medical genius who heads a team of diagnosticians at the fictional Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in... |
Hannah | Episode: "Sleeping Dogs Lie" |
| 2006 | Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip was an American dramedy television series created and written by Aaron Sorkin. It ran for 22 episodes.The series takes place behind the scenes of a live sketch comedy show on the fictional television network NBS , whose format is similar to that of NBC's... |
Daphne | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 2006 | Entourage Entourage (TV series) Entourage is an American comedy-drama television series that premiered on HBO on July 18, 2004 and concluded on September 11, 2011, after eight seasons... |
Jennifer | Episode: "Sorry, Ari" |
| 2006 | Heroes Heroes (TV series) Heroes is an American science fiction television drama series created by Tim Kring that appeared on NBC for four seasons from September 25, 2006 through February 8, 2010. The series tells the stories of ordinary people who discover superhuman abilities, and how these abilities take effect in the... |
Charlie Andrews | Episodes: "Seven Minutes to Midnight", "Homecoming", "Six Months Ago", "Once Upon a Time in Texas" |
| 2007 | Nice Girls Don't Get the Corner Office | Angela | TV pilot |
| 2007 | Ugly Betty Ugly Betty Ugly Betty is an American comedy-drama television series developed by Silvio Horta, which premiered on ABC on September 28, 2006, and ended on April 14, 2010. The series revolves around the character Betty Suarez and is based on Fernando Gaitán's Colombian telenovela soap opera Yo soy Betty, la fea... |
Charlie | 6 episodes |
| 2007 | Ghost Whisperer Ghost Whisperer Ghost Whisperer is an American television supernatural drama, which ran on CBS from September 23, 2005 to May 21, 2010.The series follows the life of Melinda Gordon , who has the ability to see and communicate with ghosts... |
Jennifer Billings | Episode: "The Underneath" |
| 2007 | Pushing Daisies Pushing Daisies Pushing Daisies is an American comedy-drama television series created by Bryan Fuller that aired on ABC from October 3, 2007 to June 13, 2009. The series stars Lee Pace as Ned, a pie-maker with the ability to bring dead things back to life with his touch, an ability that comes with stipulations... |
Elsita/Elsa | Episode: "Pigeon" |
| 2007 | Drunk History | Annabelle | Episode: "Drunk History Vol. 2.5: Featuring Jack Black" |
| 2008 | Ugly Betty Ugly Betty Ugly Betty is an American comedy-drama television series developed by Silvio Horta, which premiered on ABC on September 28, 2006, and ended on April 14, 2010. The series revolves around the character Betty Suarez and is based on Fernando Gaitán's Colombian telenovela soap opera Yo soy Betty, la fea... |
Charlie | Episodes: "Twenty-four Candles", "Betty's Baby Bump" |
| 2008 | Back to You Back to You Back to You is an American situation comedy series, which aired on Fox from September 19, 2007 to May 14, 2008. The creators and executive producers were Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan, and the director was James Burrows. The series starred Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton as squabbling... |
Shelley Ken | Episode: "Date Night" |
| 2009 | Heroes Heroes (TV series) Heroes is an American science fiction television drama series created by Tim Kring that appeared on NBC for four seasons from September 25, 2006 through February 8, 2010. The series tells the stories of ordinary people who discover superhuman abilities, and how these abilities take effect in the... |
Charlie Andrews | Episodes: "Tabula Rasa", "Once Upon a Time in Texas" |
| 2009–present | Glee Glee (TV series) Glee is an American musical comedy-drama television series that airs on Fox in the United States, and on GlobalTV in Canada. It focuses on the high school glee club New Directions competing on the show choir competition circuit, while its members deal with relationships, sexuality and social issues... |
Emma Pillsbury Emma Pillsbury Emma Pillsbury is a fictional character from the Fox musical comedy-drama series Glee. Portrayed by actress Jayma Mays, Emma has appeared in Glee from its pilot episode, first broadcast on May 19, 2009. Emma was developed by Glee creators Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan... |
Main character Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series |
External links
- Jayma Mays at TV.comTV.comTV.com is a website owned by CBS Interactive. The site covers television and focuses on English-language shows made or broadcast in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and Japan...